Revenue (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2021 USD ($) units	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2021 USD ($) units	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Emerging Markets total countries | units	20		20
Net sales	$ 2,932	$ 2,659	$ 8,761	$ 7,204
Contract with Customer, Liability [Abstract]
Contract with Customer, Liability	455		455		$ 395
Change in Contract with Customer, Liability [Abstract]
Contract with Customer, Liability, Revenue Recognized	39		113
United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	1,726	1,560	5,112	4,167
International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	1,206	1,098	3,649	3,037
Emerging Markets [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	354	291	1,030	832
Global Endoscopy (Endo) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	533	475	1,583	1,265
Global Endoscopy (Endo) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	306	270	902	715
Global Endoscopy (Endo) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	227	205	681	550
Global Urology (Uro) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	384	350	1,142	910
Global Urology (Uro) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	275	251	817	650
Global Urology (Uro) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	109	99	325	260
Global CRM Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	512	465	1,505	1,253
Global CRM Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	312	275	903	738
Global CRM Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	199	190	603	515
Global Electrophysiology (EP) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	86	76	265	202
Global Electrophysiology (EP) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	32	33	96	86
Global Electrophysiology (EP) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	55	43	169	116
Global Neuromodulation (NM) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	221	216	666	529
Global Neuromodulation (NM) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	175	176	520	426
Global Neuromodulation (NM) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	46	41	145	103
Global Interventional Cardiology (IC) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	744	586	2,230	1,714
Global Interventional Cardiology (IC) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	376	255	1,117	741
Global Interventional Cardiology (IC) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	368	331	1,113	973
Global Peripheral Interventions (PI) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	452	416	1,358	1,148
Global Peripheral Interventions (PI) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	250	236	748	649
Global Peripheral Interventions (PI) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	202	179	609	499
Specialty Pharmaceuticals [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	0	74	13	183
Specialty Pharmaceuticals [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	0	65	10	162
Specialty Pharmaceuticals [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	0	10	4	21
BSX Reportable Segments [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	2,932	2,584	8,748	7,021
BSX Reportable Segments [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	1,726	1,496	5,103	4,005
BSX Reportable Segments [Member] | EMEA [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	590	540	1,855	1,507
BSX Reportable Segments [Member] | APAC [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	517	472	1,511	1,292
BSX Reportable Segments [Member] | Latin America and Canada [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 99	$ 77	$ 279	$ 217